


Battered and bruised, but still smiling

by WholesomeBab



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alex is baby and I love her, Despite the fact that Alex could whoop their butts the boys still fuss over her, Hurt/Comfort, Interrogation, Near Death Experiences, Protective Siblings, Self-Indulgent, Sibling Love, Siblings, hope y'all like this, wanted to bring this gal back bc I haven't written for her ever, why not her loyalty biting her in the ass but she gets cuddles for it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-03-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23034856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WholesomeBab/pseuds/WholesomeBab
Summary: She could taste blood in her mouth, feel it trickling down her face and matting her orange-tipped hair, everything hurt, good god everything fucking hurt, but she didn't care, she was only in this position because she had willingly put herself in it, she was human, she held no significant value to Shredder, and he was a fool if he thought she would tell him anything.
Kudos: 8





	Battered and bruised, but still smiling

**Author's Note:**

> Me, being self indulgent and wanting to write for the sunshine that is Alex, made this, I plan to write more.
> 
> In case the story doesn't give her a clear enough description, Alex's general appearance is: dark brown skin, lighter brown hair that's dyed orange at the tips and forest green eyes.
> 
> With that said, enjoy~

"tell me where the turtles are" 

The demand falls on deaf ears as the teenager is flung across the room like she weighed nothing, hitting the ground and rolling with nothing but a pained grunt coming from her, Alex coughs, trying to regain some of her senses as her lungs struggle to take in air, trying to get back onto her feet but only being able to lift her upper body with her shaking arms. 

She could taste blood in her mouth, feel it trickling down her face and matting her orange-tipped hair, everything hurt, good god everything fucking hurt, but she didn't care, she was only in this position because she had willingly put herself in it, she was human, she held no significant value to Shredder, and he was a fool if he thought she would tell him anything. 

\----

Meanwhile, a few blocks down from the tyrant's fortress, 4 figures sit on a rooftop, discussing a plan of action, they were all worried and angry, next to Mikey, Alex was dubbed the second baby of the family and the thought of any harm coming to her was sickening, she wasn't like them, she didn't have a hard shell to protect her, she was human, sure she could defend herself like they could, but now at the Shredder's mercy, she was a porcelain doll as far as they were concerned. 

When they had escaped the ambush set by the foot, it didn't take long to realise the girl was missing, but when they had returned to the scene of the battle, she was gone, all that was left behind were her tonfa and mask. As much as Leo hated to give the order, they needed to regroup and patch up before they could go after her, which had taken two hours, two hours too long. 

Now they were here, hunched over a map of the fortress, mapping out a route and way of safely retrieving the girl with minimal risk to her life, the leader in blue looked down to the bright green mask tied around his wrist, having placed it there for safe keeping, god he really hoped she was okay. 

"Alright team, we're going in, full ninja mode, remember, a wrong move could get both us and Alex…killed" none of his brothers miss the pause in his words and they all nod, even Raph wasn't willing to risk the girl's life by going in fists first, with that, the four make the short journey towards the looming building, landing on the roof, spotting the commotion in the throne room, they silently gaze in through the skylight and feeling as if their blood had run cold as they catch Alex get tossed across the floor, only to see Shredder advancing towards her again. 

\----

Alex wheezes as she's only able to take in two shaky breaths before a cold, gloved hand seizes her by the hair and she screams as she's roughly lifted by it, grasping at her captor's wrist to take some of the weight off, green irises glaring defiantly into the cold eyes of her enemy, showing none of the fear she was currently feeling. "tell me where they are, girl" he growls and Alex just spits a mixture of blood and saliva at his facemask, scowling at him "over my dead body" she chokes out and the man's eyes narrow, dropping her onto the ground again. 

"that can be arranged" is all he says, kicking her onto her back before his boot comes down roughly onto her chest and she screams again, hearing an unsettling 'crack' resound from the stomped area, definitely broken ribs "tell me!" The Shredder booms and she just continues glaring up "n-never" she coughs, blood pooling from her lips as she turns her head to the side to spit it out, he growls again, raising his gauntlet, unsheathing the blades and Alex pales even more, this really was it, huh, this was how she was going to die, she whimpers, closing her eyes tightly with fear, she can hear her heartbeat thundering in her ears snippets of her life flashing before her eyes. Her father telling her the story of when he found and adopted her, beginning training with her brothers, earning her mask and then her weapons, watching and helping April become a kunoichi like her, she was never going to see her family again, that's what her mind whispered harshly in her ears as she waited for the strike that would end her life. 

Then, the blow never comes, Alex hears Shredder roar as his heavy boot lifts from her chest and she's able to suck in a shaky breath, opening her eyes and seeing the man stumble back, trying to throw something off his back, she spots two green arms with three fingered hands wrapped around the Shredder's neck and her heart swells with hope but also drops with fear. She tries to call out but finds her throat unresponsive, letting her head drop back onto the ground, vision blurring, her energy was starting to fade, she sees two green blobs in her line of sight, purple and orange being the last thing that catches her attention before her eyes roll back in her head as she passes out. 

\----

When Alex comes to again, she knows she's being carried by how she's lightly jostled in a rhythmic way, her cheek is resting on something smooth and she feels hands grabbing her forearms that are slung over the person's shoulders to keep her from falling, her heels tucked into a makeshift sling around their waist to provide a little more support. 

Then the excruciating pain hits her full force and she lets out a choked sob, whimpering quietly, whoever's holding her tenses in surprise as they slow down slightly, the hands around her forearms squeezing gently in reassurance "it's aight sis, we're gonna get ya home, get ya fixed up" the voice graces her ears but she has a hard time placing it, she lifts her head slightly from the smooth surface, which she then realises is a shell, looking up and catching sight of green skin and red bandana tails, her heart swells and her arms immediately tighten around Raph in a hug full of relief, letting out another sob. The turtle feels his heart break a little at this, she should've never been in that position to begin with, they should've been watching their backs so she wouldn't have been forced to do something so reckless, his temper flares in his chest but he keeps it to himself for now. 

Alex coughs again, blood splattering from her lips, trying to mumble an apology to Raph for dirtying his shell but her head just drops back onto it as her vision blurrs, hearing panicked yelling and a drastic shift in speed before she's out like a light again. 

\----

By the time they got back to the lair Master Splinter had already gotten the lab set up for Donnie to immediately get to work, a grim expression crossing the rat's face as he sees Raphael carrying the pale girl, his shell covered with her blood as he darts into the lab and sets her gently onto the table, immediately being ushered out by the frantic genius and he wastes no time in getting to work. 

Out in the living room they waited, Splinter stood motionless, lost in thought, meditating to keep himself calm, he'd always been that bit more protective of Alex, not because she was the little girl of the family, he'd made sure she could kick as much ass as her brothers, it was because she reminded him of Miwa, she'd always be an innocent baby girl in his eyes, so the brothers understood why he was a bit more attached, having lost a daughter already, he was determined not to lose another. 

Leo paced, he always did when he was worried, eyebrows furrowed as he purses his lips, he toys with Alex's mask still around his wrist, looking between it and the door of the lab, barely acknowledging anyone else. 

Raph and Mikey sit on the couch, the younger turtle using a wet rag to clean the blood from his brother's shell, both are silent in worry before Mikey breaks it "I know she's gonna be fine dudes" he smiles a bit weakly "she's tough as we are even if she doesn't have a shell, she's gonna be juuust fine" this seems to dissipate some of the tension in the room as they all go back to waiting silently. 

Within the lab, the purple-clad terrapin worked quickly yet carefully as he bandaged Alex's wounds, making a mental note of her injuries. 3 broken ribs, a sprained wrist, gashes to the side of her head, lacerations to multiple places of her body and possibly a mild concussion, luckily she hadn't lost enough blood to require a transfusion but it was still a lot, saturating her clothes, especially both of her shirts which now lay in a cut up heap in the corner, her chest and lower abdomen covered almost completely with bandages that were already gaining blooming patches of blood. 

Alex twitched or whimpered occasionally but Donnie found that gently stroking her head would calm her down enough to continue working, it took about 45 minutes before he was able to properly relax, draping a blanket over the girl before transferring her to a more comfy cot he kept in the lab (mainly for himself when he couldn't be bothered to make the journey to his bedroom after a long night of sciencing) he then spent another 15 minutes cleaning the dried blood from her face and hair, nodding to himself once he was satisfied with his work before standing and heading to tell the others. 

\----

When Alex came to properly she was confused, what had happened? She stared blankly at the sterile light grey ceiling above her which she then identified as the ceiling in Donnie's lab, which made her even more confused. 

There had been an ambush, Shredder had interrogated and almost killed her when her brothers-

Her brothers! 

They had saved her, putting their own lives at risk, were they alright!? In a medication addled panic the girl attempts to shoot up in the cot she was laying on but is immediately stopped by a hand resting on her bandage-covered chest to keep her from moving, she immediately reaches up and grasps the person's wrist, feeling familiar scales on her fingers, blinking hard, Alex is able to clear her blurry vision, looking up into the worried face of her eldest brother. She smiles a little when she sees him "L-Leo-" she attempts to say something but finds her throat too dry, turning her head to cough into the crook of her arm. 

When she looks back up she finds the turtle offering her a glass of water and she gratefully takes it and gulps it down, finally finding her voice "thanks" she smiles and he gives a faint one back "you feeling alright?" he enquires and she shrugs with a lopsided smirk "I mean, everything hurts, but yeah, I'm feeling peachy" she huffs out a small laugh and he rolls his eyes before pulling her into a secure yet gentle hug that she immediately returns, pressing her face into his shoulder with a small sigh. 

From over Leo's shoulder, she spots her other brothers, asleep in some chairs nearby the cot, heads leaning on each other's shoulders, what time was it? She glances at the digital clock blinking over on Donnie's desk, 2am, wow "how long have I been out?" She asks quietly, feeling bad that they all stayed up so late for her, or attempted to at least. "a few hours, we got back at around 9" Leo replies as he pulls away and lets her lay back, adjusting her pillow so she can sit up. He then stands, refilling her glass at the sink in the lab and handing it back to her before going over to the sleeping turtles. 

Alex sips her water, watching with an amused expression as Leo taps each of his brothers on the beak, abruptly waking each of them as they blink dazedly at their brother "up and at em boys, she's awake" he chides with a smirk and seeing how aware all three of them suddenly are, her gut finds it important that she puts down her glass immediately. 

Her gut turns out to be right as within 5 seconds, her other three brothers are crowded around her, Mikey clinging onto her as if she'd disappear which is enough to send a sharp sting of pain through her chest but she ignores it as she hugs him back, patting his head as he babbles in an upset manner. Donnie chides Mikey harshly about being careful with her but is promptly ignored by his orange banded brother, Raph begins chastising her about her reckless decision. She can barely make out their voices over one another, but the familiarity that she thought she'd never see or hear again, causes her to sniff and just hug Mikey tighter. 

Leo sees how overwhelmed the girl was becoming, stepping over and pulling both Raph and Donnie back by the bandana tails "alright you three, she's just woken up, go easy" he uses his 'scolding older brother' voice, staring sternly at them when they go to protest, they look back to the girl who's smiling slightly, but there's also tears in her eyes as she listens to Mikey babble more "Dudette we thought you were done for! Shred head had his hands on you it was like a scene from a comic book and- then there was so much blood and-" baby blue eyes also fill with tears as he hugs Alex even tighter and she grunts a little in pain but doesn't protest, continuing to rub his head. 

"luckily I had four brave heroes to swoop in to my rescue" she reassures, letting out a small wheeze once Mikey lets go of her, wrapping an arm around her chest, Donnie's immediately by her side "are you feeling dizzy? Nausea? Headache?" he asks and Alex waves a hand dismissively "just feel like a bus drove into my ribs, just gimme some painkillers and I'll be fine" she grunts with a smile and he huffs but nods, reaching to the shelf above her, he procures a bottle of aspirin, handing her two and placing the bottle back as she downs them with her water, hugging her briefly before shuffling off to check something. 

Then that left Raph, he stood with his arms crossed, frowning at her unhappily as he finds himself struggling to keep his temper in check. She looks away, feeling the tears pricking at her eyes again as she bites her lip, seeing this, the hothead sighs heavily and walks over, sitting on the edge of the cot, Alex takes in a shaky breath "I know what I did was stupid but, if I hadn't they would've followed us, I needed to distract them, I couldn't risk them finding the lair or hurting any of you, it may have been stupid, but I don't regret it" she keeps her voice mostly level as she speaks, sniffling a little as she looks to Raph, then Leo, then Mikey and then Donnie and they all see it in her eyes, Alex was as terrified as they all were, for both her life and for her family, her forest green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. 

Raph tuts before he begrudgingly wraps his arms around her, resting his head on top of hers when he feels how she melts against his plastron, whimpering and sniffling as she wipes her eyes, the turtle sighs again, pressing a kiss to the top of her head "just don't do it again, aight…?" he asks roughly but caringly and she nods "I promise…" she whispers, now fully clinging to her brother, emotional and tired. Raph hugs her a few moments more before he tries to get her to lay back down but Alex whines quietly, clinging tighter to him in response, he blushes lightly in embarrassment, looking to his brothers with 'help' written across his face but they all shrug dismissively, each with a different level of amusement. 

"c'mon Al, ya can't sleep like this" he says, trying to encourage her to let go but she whines again, breaking off into a yawn and the turtle huffs quietly. Suddenly, Mikey perks up and grins, jumping up and down excitedly "I have an idea!" he blurts before dashing out of the room, leaving the rest of his siblings blinking after him. Resigning himself to his fate, Raph sighs and begins petting Alex's hair, causing her to get more comfortable with a happy chirp noise coming from the back of her throat, yawning again as she sips the remnants of her glass of water. 

While they wait, Leo places a hand to his wrist as he remembers that he still had Alex's mask, untying it with care, he holds it out "here, I figured you'd be missing this" he smiles a little when he sees her eyes light up, sitting up and all but snatching the green strip of fabric, tying it around her eyes and tucking it carefully under her hair "I feel better already!" she grins as she hugs Raph's arm before he can escape and he frowns sourly but doesn't protest. 

After about ten minutes of waiting for whatever their youngest brother had planned, Mikey's voice calls in from the living room "dudes! Come on out here!" this causes them to look to each other in mild confusion but Alex looks interested, finally letting go of her red banded brother and swinging her legs over the side of the cot, about to hop to her feet but Donnie's quick to rush over and stop her from getting up, a stern expression on his face "easy! You've got three broken ribs and possibly a mild concussion, you're in no condition to be walking" he scolds and Alex pouts up at him like an indignant child before she smiles sweetly and holds her arms up like a toddler, putting on her best puppy dog eyes. The tall turtle tries to keep his composure but his resolve quickly crumbles under his baby sister's gaze and he groans "fine fine, I'll carry you this once" he tuts, bending down and lifting her up bridal style, careful not to jostle her too much as he makes his way out of the lab with the other two following close behind. 

\----

What awaited them out in the living room was possibly all the blankets and pillows in the lair all stacked up by the couch and around it, making a very comfortable looking nest in the TV pit, a stack of dvds laid out for them which they all noted were Alex's favorites, Alex lets out another happy chirp, her eyes lighting up more as she squirms a little in Donnie's arms, the turtle holding her chuckles quietly as he carefully sets her down next to Mikey who she immediately throws her arms around, nuzzling her cheek against his. 

It doesn't take long for the five teens to settle themselves, it was just like when they were kids, despite starting out sitting apart, they were quickly piled together with Alex carefully nestled between them all comfortably, sitting in Leo's lap with her head tucked under his chin, legs thrown over Donnie's lap who's hugging his older brother's arm, head resting against his shoulder, Mikey has his head resting against Alex's back, arms wrapped around her middle comfortably while Raph has his head leaning back on the couch with an arm around his little brother's shoulders. They all snore to various degrees, having fallen asleep to 'The princess and the frog' completely exhausted from the night's events. 

In the morning, Master Splinter woke early like he usually did, walking upon this scene once he exited the dojo, a soft smile gracing his features, walking over to switch off the TV and cover them with a few blankets, careful not to wake them "sleep well my children" he whispers as he heads back towards his room, deciding to call off training for the day.


End file.
